Jonesboro. AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – May 2, 2024 – With the exception of a clubhouse at the trap shooting range, the Jonesboro Shooting Sports Complex is totally up and running, range Program Manager Joey Glaub said.
The range opened on Sept. 18, 2021, but some construction was delayed by supply chain shortages due to the COVID pandemic.
Glaub said the trap shooting range is a big hit, drawing students from many high schools in Northeast Arkansas for practicing and for tournaments.
He said many of the youth teams participate in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Youth Shooting Sports. The program is divided into four regions around the state, with Jonesboro being in the East Region. Glaub said the program attracts around 500-600 youths in each region.
Junior age trap shooters are from grades 5-8. Senior division shooters are grades 9-12.
“Trap shooting is a team-building sport,” Glaub said. “It teaches sportsmanship and teamwork.”
Since its opening, the range has attracted more than 20,000 visitors, has had 865,341 clay pigeons thrown, has 1,973 family memberships and 799 individual memberships, Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Director Danny Kapales said.
Family memberships cost $150 and individual memberships are $100.
The complex has 10 corporate sponsors that support more than $63,000 annually for sponsorships, Glaub said.
The complex has a 200-yard rifle range, a 50-yard pistol range, nine trap fields with three skeet overlayed fields, 18 target 3D archery range and a standard bagged archery range up to 70 yards. The complex has 200 acres available.
It employs two full-time workers and 12 part-timers, Glaub said.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission secured a $2 million grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the city’s behalf to be used toward construction.
The clubhouse for the trap shooting side will be bigger than the one at the firing range, Glaub said.
The range is open Wednesdays-Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the range stays open an extra hour.
The Jonesboro Shooting Sports Complex is located at 3702 Moore Road in southeast Jonesboro.